VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, continuing his
occasional series of Friday afternoon visits to people who are suffering or in
need of encouragement, visited a well-known Rome rehabilitation center for
people with neurological disorders or nerve damage.

VATICAN CITY — When Pope
Francis sat down with an expert in media and communication for a yearlong
series of interviews, those discussions offered some fascinating insight into
the pope's philosophy of communication and suggested guidelines for the media.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO COLOMBIA — Flying to Colombia, with a
flight plan changed to avoid Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean Sea, Pope Francis
told reporters that Colombia and its neighbor, Venezuela, were in his prayers.

VATICAN CITY With millions of people fleeing
violence, persecution and poverty around the globe, individual nations must
expand options that make it possible for migrants and refugees to cross their
borders safely and legally, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY — Summertime can and should be a time
for extra prayer, a moment of peace that allows Christians to savor the joy of
their relationship with Jesus and find new strength to reach out with love to
others, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY — A Vatican consultation group will
consider initiatives to bolster
the fight against corruption and organized crime, including by looking at possibilities for
excommunicating members
of the Mafia and other criminal organizations.

The Vatican
Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development published an outcome document Aug. 2
highlighting anti-corruption proposals that came out of the Vatican's first "International
Debate on Corruption."

VATICAN CITY — U.S. politics have become increasingly colored by an apocalyptic world view, promoted by certain fundamentalist Christians, that fosters hatred, fear and intolerance, said an influential Jesuit magazine.

VATICAN CITY — Celebrating a Mass in his native El Salvador, newly created Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez said his first major assignment will be to travel to South Korea for a meeting on how to achieve peace with North Korea.

VATICAN CITY — Promoting the secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to the office of prefect, Pope Francis chose not to ask German Cardinal Gerhard Muller to serve a second five-year term in the post.

VATICAN CITY — While some countries continue to debate the legalization of marijuana, its effects and impact on possible dependency need to be further understood, said the head of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

WASHINGTON — Days after rebels in Colombia announced turning in the last of their cache of weapons over to international observers, the Vatican announced June 23 details of Pope Francis' September trip to the war-torn South American country.

ROME — Instead of "pretending to be adolescents," parents must help young people see the blessing of growing into adulthood, Pope Francis told priests, religious, catechists and parish council members from the Diocese of Rome.

VATICAN CITY — After broadening the scope of and issuing new statutes for the Pontifical Academy of Life, Pope Francis appointed new members to the advisory body and included scientists, professors and experts in medicine and ethics from both religious and secular backgrounds.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is giving priests belonging to the Diocese of Ahiara, Nigeria, 30 days to write a letter promising obedience to him and accepting the bishop appointed for their diocese or they will be suspended.

VATICAN CITY — The Holy Spirit continues to give Christians different gifts and to call them to share those gifts with each other in a community marked by forgiveness and "unity in diversity," Pope Francis said on Pentecost.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump spent 30 minutes speaking privately in the library of the Apostolic Palace May 24, and as the president left, he told the pope, "I won't forget what you said."

WASHINGTON — As he prepared to meet Pope Francis for the first time, President Donald Trump formally nominated Callista Gingrich, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, to be the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.

VATICAN CITY — Despite a few pointed comments in the past and fundamental differences on issues such as immigration, economic policy, military spending and climate change, sparks are not expected to fly May 24 when Pope Francis welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump to the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY — If the Catholic Church recognizes as "worthy of belief" only the initial alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, it would be the first time the church distinguished between phases of a single event, but it also would acknowledge that human beings and a host of complicating factors are involved, said a theological expert in Mariology.

VATICAN CITY — The commission that now-retired Pope Benedict XVI established to study the alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, reportedly voted overwhelmingly to recognize as supernatural the first seven appearances of Mary in 1981.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM PORTUGAL — While the investigations into the very first alleged apparitions at Medjugorje in must continue, Pope Francis said he has doubts about claims that Mary continues to appear in the village of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

FATIMA, Portugal — Standing before the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, Pope Francis canonized two shepherd children who saw Mary at Fatima, but more importantly, he said, they heeded the call to pray for sinners and trust in the Lord.

VATICAN CITY — Praying that God would protect Egypt from all evil, Pope Francis told the nation's people that a world torn apart by indiscriminate violence needs courageous builders of peace, dialogue and justice.

"How wonderful would it be if the growth of scientific and technological innovation would come along with more equality and social inclusion," Pope Francis said in a video talk played April 25 for 1,800 people attending TED 2017 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and posted online with subtitles in 20 languages.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will declare the sainthood of Blessed Jacinta Marto and Blessed Francisco Marto, two of the shepherd children who saw Mary in Fatima, Portugal, during his visit to the site of the apparitions May 13.

VATICAN CITY — Jesus came to the world not just to teach, but to radically change human hearts that have hardened from sin, the preacher of the papal household said during a service commemorating Christ's death on the cross.

VATICAN CITY — Continuing initiatives aimed at a reconciliation with the Society of St. Pius X, Pope Francis has made it possible for bishops to ensure the validity of marriages celebrated in the traditionalist communities.